what to do ???

Question
What do I do if my guinea pig keeps squeaking i mean really loudly i give her more then enough food to eat because what i heard from other people so far is that when your guinea pig is squeaking it's hungry.I think it's lonely but I personally need better advice to help me It doesn't have toys, beds , little homes it just has one cage to itself. It doesn't have floor time because I'm afraid it will escape or maybe it's trying to get my attention. PLEASE HELP ME I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. Jenna

Answer
Hi Jenna,

A guinea pig's loud squeak on a rising note is a demand. It's usually - but not always - for food. In your piggy's case, it is proably for attention if it doesn't have another guinea pig to keep it company or any toys to play with. Guinea pigs are very social, so he or she is probably lonely and trying to talk to you - make sure you get him or her out for lots of cuddles. Don't worry too much about floor time - put an old towel on the floor for your piggy to play on as it will soak up any mess the piggy makes and also discourage it from wandering around the room at random. Sit next to the towel so your piggy feels safe, and put something out for the piggy to hide in if it feels insecure.

The best toy for a guinea pig's cage and for floor time is a tube. Guinea pigs love jumping over these, hiding in them, and chewing them. I like the "chube" ones as they're made of vegetable parchment and are entirely edible. If you want to really treat your guinea pig, you could get him or her a "hide and hay" from the Naturals company - it's an edible vegetable parchment tube covered in luxury hay. A guinea pig also needs a dark area to sleep in - if it's in a hutch, there will be a sleeping compartment and most indoor cages come with removable sleeping areas. If yours doesn't have one, the best thing to get is a widely-available guinea pig igloo. Your guinea pig will feel safe to hide and sleep in it, and you will be able to see in (though the piggy won't know - as the igloo is made of special plastic).

Your piggy will also need a salt lick and a gnawing block to keep its teeth and nails in good condition. You can get these in all sorts of shapes and sizes, perhaps the best are natural wooden gnawing blocks available from most pet shops and online pet suppliers. There are lots of other toys you can get for your guinea pig, but the best present you could get would be a guinea pig friend (of the same sex) to share its home and its life with.

How much and how often do you feed your guinea pig? They are grazers, so they need their food topping up throughout the day - I feed mine three times. A portion of fresh veg in the morning, another portion of fresh beg in the early evening, and a geneorus helping of hay and dried mix when I go to bed. If you let me know what and when you feed your piggy, I can advise.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions - just ask!